Three excerpts from authors Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi and Jane McGonigal's books look at how psychology explains how and why games are enjoyed. In Csikszentmihalyi's Happiness Revisited, the author focuses on happiness. Men and women seek happiness above all things. Work and other endeavors that may not seem to be directly related to happiness, but they typically have potential outcomes that create an opportunity to engage in activities that bring about happiness. Despite increased health, life expectancy, and affluence, people today feel as though they are wasting their lives. They are not happy but, rather, bored and depressed. The author studied happiness to find out when people feel most happy. His conclusions were that happiness is not something that happens, but it is something that must be prepared for, cultivated, defined, and defended privately by each person. Although we may not be able to control many aspects of our life (when we are born, our parents, our congenital health defects, the world around us. etc.), we can control our actions. We also control the way we react to the world around us. So happiness is partially a choice and partially a response to outside influences. Another interesting finding was that hard work was something that created the most happiness. Csikzentmihalyi writes, "Contrary to what we usually believe, the best moments in our lives are not passive, receptive, relaxing times...The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult or worthwhile." This is the definition of 'optimal experience.' This experience is universal and important in understanding Csikzentmihalyi's next idea: Flow.
Flow is basically optimal experience but focuses more on the active participation in the moment by the individual enjoying the task that they are engaged in. There are several reasons why games are conducive to flow. For one, they have rules that require learning a skill. Next, they set up goals and provide feedback to the participants. And finally, they make control possible. The first three reasons that Csikzentmihalyi sets out are identical to McGonigal's core factors of a game. As discussed in a previous post, these factors are universally present in all types of games. Csikzentmihalyi wants to show that games can "help participants and spectators achieve an ordered state of mind that is highly enjoyable." This experience has the ability to transport a person into a new reality. Flow activity is highly rewarding and creates happiness. According to Csikzentmihalyi, it also leads to growth and discovery. If a person becomes bored with an activity, they can increase the difficulty level. If the activity is too difficult, causing performance anxiety, this is a motivator for practice and continued engagement in the sport or activity. Although flow is an excellent way to create interest in a particular activity or sport, it is ultimately up to the individual for the experience to become transformative. Extrinsic motivation only takes the flow experience so far without the need for intrinsic value to take the experience to the ultimate level.
In Jane McGonigal's book Reality is Broken, she discusses this flow dynamic and why it pushes gamers to continue to play when failure is so persistent. According to McGonigal, gamers actually enjoy failure as it is proof of a great challenge that is not often experienced by hardcore gamers. There was a specific example that she discussed in the book. The game Super Monkey Ball 2 is a challenging game that causes the player to fail at a high rate. What made the failure acceptable for the players was the humorous graphic that played during those moments. The game gave the player positive failure feedback. This gives the player a feeling of hope as failure is both an option and obstacle to overcome. Games allow users to set attainable goals in settings with rules that govern fair play. This is a stark difference from life.
The summation of all this information is that people want to be happy but are afraid of failure and can become depressed by goals that seem unattainable. Happiness will look differently to all people, but Csikzentmihalyi suggests that happiness is not a destination. Instead, it is hard work and challenges that we make for ourselves that bring the most happiness. So with this in mind, it is important to challenge students but to also keep those challenges within reach. Students may not feel as though they are enjoying the hard work that is expected of them at the time, but they will experience a sense of pride when they accomplish the goals they are working towards.
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